A Good Day

K-Gr 3–An unlikely friendship between a tiger and a cat offers hope and a bit of magical thinking in this quiet, quirky offering. Tiger languishes in his cage at the city zoo while his friend and confidante—a black-and-white cat sporting a hat and red sweater—runs free, doing as he pleases. Cat tells his friend that “sometimes I wish I were like you—big, smart, strong…” But the tiger envies his friend’s freedom and longs to go home. He asks the cat to help him escape and outlines a plan. On the designated night, the zookeeper arrives with his flashlight. “‘Where do you think you’re going with those keys?’” What happens next is not only surprising, but empowering. Suffice it to say, mission accomplished. The delicate watercolor artwork features a variety of animals and people at a traditional zoo with city buildings in the skyline juxtaposed against the lush greens and blues and starry skies of the tiger’s homeland.